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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23628655">Sweet and Sour</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/UngratefulWolf/pseuds/UngratefulWolf'>UngratefulWolf</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Ben 10 Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Ficlet, Gen, Gwen doesn't answer to the emo boy, Kevin has something on his mind, Reboot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 18:26:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,014</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23628655</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/UngratefulWolf/pseuds/UngratefulWolf</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a small ficlet about Kevin's feelings regarding Gwen. Takes place in the reboot, some time before "What Rhymes With Omnitrix?"</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kevin Levin (kind of one-sided)/Gwen Tennyson, Reboot!Gwevin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sweet and Sour</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He had to admit, this did look pretty cliché.</p><p>He was a rebel, she was a nerd. He was Tennyson's rival, she was a Tennyson. She had a lot of lousy company, he was a loner. To say "opposites attract" would be stating the obvious (well, he didn't know if she… wanted to be friends too).</p><p>When he first saw her at Biggie Box, he had to admit he was a bit taken aback. She was nothing like her cousin, and nothing like him either. Calm, mature, responsible, cool-headed, not batting an eye as they both destroyed the mall.</p><p>She was kind and sweet, which frankly made him nauseous. Her 'caring and sharing' attitude was so childish he wondered if she wasn't the reason Tennyson was such a baby. Who cares if that kid's cake was delicious, he was <em>not</em> friends and he'd never be friends with a loser like him.</p><p>Then sometimes, she could be rowdy too. Back at Laser Tag, she totally owned her cousin like a wild animal, he had no choice but to be impressed. Maybe she'd make a better archnemesis than the other dweeb was (no, she'd definitely make a better rival).</p><p>Was she always on that idiot's case? Or was it just something she did when she didn't have anything better to do? It didn't matter, did it? At least, she made the trouble worth solving.</p><p>Why suggest sticking around anyway? Did she like making other's lives easier, or was she just want to save herself the trouble of lecturing everyone like the goodie-two-shoes she was? He could never tell, she was so easy to read but so hard to understand.</p><p>He didn't do friendship, he didn't like all that lame emotional stuff about teamwork and hugging your feelings out, so he'd never understood her. She acted naive, determined but in a childish way, it was almost adorable, it'd make him think twice before coming around her caretaking attitude.</p><p>Did she hope he'd come around soon? Was she counting on that? Or was she just playing him like a fool? She never looked his way that much either, if only to tell him he had a problem like that doofus did. Was that why she bothered to talk to him?</p><p>Did she think he deserved help or was she pitying him? Did she want him to stay quiet and obey like a dumb mutt, or did she genuinely want to help? Eh, whatever, it's not like he needed it or her anyways.</p><p>But would she do it? Could she do it? No way, he wasn't a baby, she couldn't tell him what to do. So what to do with her? Just ignore her even when she was helpful? Follow her advice even if it meant forgetting what he came for?</p><p>It was starting to bog him, what did he see in her? Someone nice? Someone who wouldn't ignore him? Someone who sounded like she cared about some kid with a sappy backstory who didn't even need anyone to glance his way? Or maybe she was just as entertaining as her cousin, but not enough to make her worth following.</p><p>He didn't need her, he was a loner and that was his thing, not some lame pity party he was throwing for himself.</p><p>But… why was there always a but?! He couldn't stop thinking even when he shouldn't care. So what, he appreciated having her around, what's next? The other idiot was the same, only that it got fun when he used his Omnitrix against him. She didn't need anything to be fun around or to impress.</p><p>So what could he do? Go talk to her? Ignore her? Go after her and teach her a lesson? Act casual without even provoking her or her family into bothering him in whatever he was doing?</p><p>He wished he knew, but all it did was make him think about her. He wasn't crushing on her, was he? He'd know so, that was the kind of smoochy thing girls would like, and he wasn't the romantic dark and broody guy, more like the cool and daredevil dark and broody type of guy. Was he even her type?</p><p>Why ask himself that question if he didn't like her? Should he tell her he didn't like her, or maybe she wasn't even interested in him? She never showed a sign she did… even if it'd explain all of her kindness towards him. But telling her he knew would imply he'd know what it felt like, and she'd be smart enough to know it. Did she already know?</p><p>Or again, was she playing with his head? How could he ever tell with her? Gwen was just a kid, but such a complex one he knew he could never approach. Not with an attitude like hers at least.</p><p>What did he want in the end? Solitude? Her friendship as boring as it sounded? To show her off? To show everyone off? Or maybe he just wanted to be with himself on that one. Where could he find the answer? Would she know?</p><p>'<em>I don't understand my own head<br/></em><em>What I want? The things I've said<br/></em><em>My heart n' guts are miles apart<br/></em><em>But I'm stuck between those ends<br/></em><em>I just wish I could talk to her<br/></em><em>But we'll never be friends.'</em></p><p>With a sigh, he closed his notebook, knowing this was still far from what he'd have to show everyone during the slam. He didn't know why he'd write it down, at least he could get it off his chest.</p><p>If he couldn't tell her, if she couldn't listen to him, at least those words would forever mark down what he felt, and she'd never have to know.</p><p>He was Kevin, she was Gwen. They were different, and that'd be the end of it.</p><p>If only he could just get off his feet and come off the stage he put himself on. Maybe without all that complicated alien adventure setup around her life and now his, he could step down and say it.</p><p>Would she like that?</p>
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